The Prize (1963) was an attempt to revive the droll Hitchcock thriller genre at a time when the Master himself had moved on to darker, edgier fare. Paul Newman stars as the Cary Grant-styled lead, a burnt-out, alcoholic novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature who must untangle a Cold War espionage plot during the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden. The film blends nail-biting suspense with romantic subplots and witty dialogue (courtesy screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who penned North by Northwest), featuring fine supporting performances by Elke Sommer, Edward G. Robinson and Diane Baker.

The Prize is an early and important score by Jerry Goldsmith, then tackling his first "A" features such as Lonely Are the Brave, Lilies of the Field and Freud. The Prize features an eclectic assortment of styles, from avant garde suspense and pulsating action (akin to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), to a smooth, romantic love theme and muscular, jazzy main title. The soundtrack features all of the imagination, melody and energy for which Goldsmith is beloved, showcased at a particularly early time in his career. The score also introduces elements of '60s "spy" cool which Goldsmith would further explore in U.N.C.L.E., the Flint movies and related projects.

The Prize was released on LP at the time of the film; however, the album included only four re-recorded Goldsmith cuts combined with popular movie themes having nothing to do with The Prize. FSM's premiere CD (entirely in stereo) features Goldsmith's complete original soundtrack as recorded for The Prize, with bonus tracks of the film's source music as well as the four LP score cuts following the main program. Liner notes are by Jeff Bond and Lukas Kendall.

What to say about Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004), the reason so many of us are soundtrack collectors in the first place? The Los Angeles native knew early on he wanted to write music for the movies, had an extensive training in television in the 1950s (starting at CBS), and went on to an unparalleled career in the movies—capable of brilliance in every genre, and beloved by his peers and fans. FSM has released as many of his scores as we could get our hands on, from classic TV work like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to famous features (Patton) and obscure gems like The Illustrated Man and 100 Rifles...heck, make that all of them. Jerry, we love you and miss you! IMDB